Britain 2013: children of poor families are still left behind

Special report: More than four decades ago a groundbreaking report, Born to Fail?, highlighted the extent of child poverty in Britain. Since then, despite the pledges of successive governments, things have only got worse. Where now for the next generation?

Children play together on the streets of Beeston in Leeds. New figures show the city has one of the highest levels of child poverty in the UK. Photograph: Photofusion/Rex Features

Fast forward more than 40 years and much has changed. No one goes to the moon any more; Concorde no longer flies. The Beatles and the Troubles are subjects for historians.

But, despite successive governments' best intentions, childhood poverty and inequality continue to blight millions of lives. And according to the bureau in a new snapshot of Britain's poor, in certain respects things are worse than they used to be.

Decades of increasing prosperity have seen the average house price soar to almost £171,000, but now an estimated 3.6 million children live in relative poverty.

The new bureau report, Greater Expectations, is to be published this week. Commissioned to mark the charity's 50th anniversary, it traverses the same terrain as its influential predecessor and comes after a series of missed targets in tackling child poverty.

Brown's 2020 goal proved to be unachievable. An interim target to reduce the number of children in poverty by a quarter by 2005 was not met.

The subsequent Child Poverty Act 2010, which received cross-party support and was accepted by the coalition when it came to power, created a new commitment to reduce the proportion of children living in relative poverty to less than 10% by 2020.

The report's authors question whether such targets go far enough. They ask: "Do we want every child to have the same life chances regardless of their parents' means? Does it matter if childhood is so unequal and the experiences of growing up for children are so polarised? As one of the richest nations on Earth should we have greater expectations and higher aspirations for our children?"

Clearly, politicians agree that the answer to those angrily posed questions should be yes. In 2008 David Cameron stated that "we all know in our hearts that creating a good society for children to grow up in is one of the greatest tests of any nation's character".

But the new report's findings suggest the UK is failing that test and argues that politicians need to be more ambitious.

"Far from improving over time, the situation today appears to be no better than it was nearly five decades ago," the report warns.

Top-line figures that jump out from the report include the claims that:

■ The number of children in relative poverty – defined as those living in families with income below 60% of the median after housing costs have been factored in – has increased by 1.5 million since 1969.

■ A child from a disadvantaged background is still far less likely do well in their GCSEs at 16 than one from a more privileged home.

■ Children living in deprived areas are much more likely to be obese than those living in affluent areas.

■ Children from disadvantaged backgrounds are more likely to suffer accidental injuries at home.

■ Children living in the most deprived areas are much less likely to have access to green space and places to play.

Such divisions have consequences for the whole fabric of society, the bureau argues. "It creates a 'them and us' society with far greater tensions," the report warns.

"The riots of the summer of 2011 were a warning of how easily these tensions can spiral out of control.

"But there are economic reasons too for why we should be concerned about this situation for our children.

"Quite simply, we cannot afford so many of the nation's future generation to be cut adrift, adding to the welfare bill and allowing desperately needed talents to be unfulfilled."

The world has changed in the years between when the reports were published, making comparisons and definitions problematic.

However, the bureau insists that it has "drawn together data from official sources" that "provides a reasonable comparison with the findings of Born to Fail?"

Helpfully, for the purposes of comparison, the number of children in the UK – around 13 million – has remained largely unchanged since 1969.

But, despite the fact that the child population has remained largely static, the number living in relative poverty has risen from two million in 1969 to 3.5 million today.

To put it another way: one in four children in the UK is now classed as living in relative poverty.

According to the bureau's data, a child from a disadvantaged background is still far less likely to achieve a good level of development at age four, to do well at school aged 11 and do well in their GCSEs at 16 compared to a child from the most well-off backgrounds.

The report suggests that, today, boys living in deprived areas are still three times more likely to be obese than boys growing up in affluent areas. It also found that babies born into disadvantaged homes were still more likely to be underweight.

There is emerging evidence that levels of child poverty will rise in the coming years. A recent Institute for Fiscal Studies analysis predicts that changes to the tax and benefit changes system will result in 600,000 more children living in poverty by 2015. By 2020 the figure is predicted to rise to 4.7 million.

The government disputes some of these predictions, but it has acknowledged that a further 200,000 children will move into poverty as a result of the benefit changes.

Such a trend threatens to undo the positives that have been achieved in recent years. In 1969, only 14% of disadvantaged children went to playschool, day nursery or playgroup, compared with 20% of their more advantaged peers.

Today 96% of those aged three and four in England attend early education, a figure that reflects how both the previous and current governments accept the arguments for the long-term benefits of an early education.

However, here too are inequalities. While nearly two thirds of four-year-olds achieve "a good level of development" during their early years education, less than half on free school meals hit the target.

And the gap between the achievements of disadvantaged children and their peers continues through to GCSE level, with far fewer disadvantaged children achieving at least five A*-C grade GCSEs, including English and maths.

The charity argues more should be done to close the gap. It wants a Children and Young People's Board to develop new strategies to reduce inequality and for the Office for Budget Responsibility to disclose the impact each budget would have on child poverty and inequality.

It points out that if the UK reduced its child poverty levels to that of Denmark, the best performing country according to data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, almost a million children would be lifted out of poverty.

If it were to match Iceland in the child health stakes, 27,000 fewer babies would be born underweight, improving their chances of being healthier in childhood and doing well at school.

And if it were to follow the example of Norway's housing system, 770,400 fewer children under five would be living in poor environmental conditions.

But these aspirations are unlikely to be realised. Greater Expectations carries a warning in its conclusion.

"The fact that the poverty and inequality experienced by our children remains just as prevalent today as it did nearly 50 years ago must not be ignored.

"And with cuts to services and welfare benefits now taking hold, those children living in low-income families are set to experience even greater hardship and the gap between them and others is set to grow even wider."